Towel-serving apparatus.



C. @ANDERSON TOWEL SERVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED TUNEZ?, i912.

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Pwtnted May 8, TQM.

C. E. ANDERSON.

TOWEL SERVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATI'UN man JUNE 27,1912.

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C. E. ANDERSON.

TOWEL SERVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATIUN FILED JUNE 27,1912.

LQQQQ@ Patented May 8, A91?.

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C. E. ANDERSON.

TOWEL SERVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED 1uNE27. 1912.

39225989@ Patented May 8,191?.

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CARL E. ANDERSON, OF AUSTIN, ILLINOISgASSIGNOR TO JACQUES ROUSSO, 0F CHICAGO, v

ILLINOIS. i

TOWEL-SERVING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 27, 1912. Serial No. 706,219.

To all whom t may concer-n.'

Be it known that l, CARL E. ANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Austin, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois7 have invented certain new and useful lmprovements in Towel-Serving Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

The principal object of my linventionis to provide a new and improved device for dealing out individual towels to persons desiring to use the same. Another object of my invention is to provide coin controlled apparatus from which towels may be withdrawn by individual users upon depositing the proper coins in the apparatus. Another object of my invention is to provide appa ratus with means to permanently retain individual towels in connection therewith and at the same time give access to them under proper restrictions. All these objects and others will become evident in the following specification and claims, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

For the purpose of clearly explaining the principle of my invention I have shown one 'specific embodiment thereof in the drawings. lt will be understood that the invention is defined in the appended claims. l now proceed to describe that particular embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawings.

Figure l is a general perspective view of the entire apparatus. y

Fig. 2'is a vertical median section.

Fig'. l3 is an enlarged top plan view, certain parts being broken away to show the mechanism beneath the same.

Fig. l is an enlarged vertical section on the line l-l of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of a portion of the towel standard partly broken away.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of a detail taken on the line 6 in Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the element shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a :nut within the towel standard shown in Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 6 looking in the direction of the arrows. y

Fig. l0 is an enlarged top plan view of Fig. 13 is a horizontal section on the line I 13-13 of Fig. 12 looking in the direction of the arrows, that is, as viewed from below.

Fig. 14 is an elevation of the elements shown at the lower left hand corner of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow 14, k

Fig. l5 is a fragmentary'perspective view of a single towel and certain associated elements.

The two vertical standards 20 constitute the main framework ofthe device and carrv the box 2l below, the box 22 above, and the mirror 23 above that. The rod 2l has the shape and position shown in Fig. 2, its lower end being detachably connected at 25 in the bottom of the box 21. rl`he upper box 22 has a glass front 26 through which the clean towels 29 within may be viewed. The bottom of the box 22 is designated 28 and above this is a removable false bottom 27s the space between being designated 34:.

Each individual towel 30 of the pile ole towels 29 has a hole -in one edge bound by the reinforcing ,piece of cloth 3l and the gromet 32.

Within the space Sel is an irregular trame '33 best shown 1n Fig. 3. This carries a tubular standard 36 aliixed to the frame by means of the boss 35. The tubular standard 36. projects up through a hole in the false bottom 27 and through the alining gro-mets 32 of the pile of towels 29. rlhis tubular standard 36 has slots 37 on its front and rear sides. Within the tubular standard 36 is a round carrier or nut 38, which has two little lugs 39 and l0 that engage the slots 37 so as to prevent rotation of the carrier 38, but permit vertical displacement thereofpwithin the tubular standard 36.

A shaft 41 stands axially within the tubular standard 36 and carries a gear pinion Ll2 at its lower end by which it may be rotated. This shaft 41 has a screw thread 83,

. which is engaged by a corresponding internal thread in the carrier or nut 38.

At the front of the box 22 is a horizontal slot fr through which projects the handle ings. arm 47 of the-lever 46 and prevents violent motion thereof.

end 43 of the lever 46 pivoted at 49. At the end of the slot 44, opposite'where, the handle 43 normally stands, is a perforated lug 45, and the handle 43 has a perforation 84 which may be brought in registry with the perforation in the lug 45. In this relation a pin through the lug 45 and the hole 84 will serve to retain the handle 43 in the position at the opposite end of the slot from that which it normally takes. The end of the lever 46 remote from the handle 4 3 is designated 47. It is engaged by the tension spring 48 which holds the handle 43 normally in the position shown in the draw- A dash pot`66 also connects tothe The frame 33 carries a' notched sector 50 and the lever 46 'carries a reversible pawl 51 adapted to coact therewith. The spring 52 tends to hold the pawl 51 in `the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. A .coin slot 53 is provided, as shown in 'F ig. 1, and from this a coin chute 54 leads vertically down so that a coin -deposited in the slot 53 will take the position designated 55 in Fig. 12.

The lever 46 carries a pivoted dog 56 acted lupon by the tension spring 57. The end of 1n which case the coin 55 will prevent the hook 59 fromv catching on the abutment 60. The spring 61 has one end xed on the frame 33 and it supplements the spring 57 when the dog is in or near the position shown in the drawings.

A coin receiving box 62 with a suitable lock is provided directly beneath the coin slot 54, asshown in Fig. 1.

Pivotedbn the same fulcrum 49With the lever 46`is a geared sector 63 acted upon by the tension spring 64. The sector 63 carries a depending stud 65 adapted to be engaged l bythe end 47 of the lever 46. The gear pinion 67 is engaged by the geared sector 63. Integral with this gear pinion 67 is the gear wheel 68 which engages the gear pinion 42 on the lower end of the screw threaded shaft 41.

The .nut or carrier 38 has pivoted thereon two dogs 69 and 73. The dog 69 is acted upon by the leaf spring 82 in a manner to throw it out as shown in Fig. 8. However,

the nut 38 has a slot 70 into Which the dog 69 may be pushed back in opposition to the leaf spring 82. The dog 69 has` a hook 71 and above that is a projecting lug 72. The

dog 73 is held in the position shown in Fig. 9 by the screw threaded shaft 41, but when the nut 38 gets to the top of the tubular standard 36, then the dog 73 maybe rocked back through the slot 37 within the tubular standard 36.

The top cover of the box 22 is designated 74. It is removable and around the tubular standard- 36 this top cover 74 has a spaced flange 75. Within are two little doors 76 normally held by the springs 77 against the tubular standard 36.

The rod 24 has the shape shown in Fig. 2 and its upper down-turned end is split as designated 7S in Figs. 5 and 9. A trans- 'verse flat sided screw` pin 80 goes through the upper end of the tubular standard 36 as shown in Figs. 5 and 9. When the flat sides of the pin. 8O are turned to lie in vertical planes, the rod 24 and the tubular standard 36 may be uncoupled; but when the tubular standard 80 is given a turn, then it joins those parts together. A flange 79 on the rod 24 rests upon the tubular'standard 36 when the parts are assembled. A pair of prongs 81 stick up from the lid 74 on either side of the rod 24. and serve to limit rotation to the right or left of the latter.

In describing the operation of the device I .will first assume that there is a pile' of towels 29 in place and that it is otherwise in readiness for use. The prospective user cannot work the machine without introducing the coin, because if he pulls to the left on the handle 43 the hook 59 will catch on the abutment 60 and limit the movement of the, handle 43. Accordingly, the user drops a coin in the slot 53 which goes down t-he coin chute 54 and takes the position designated 5,5. The plate 58 carried by the dog 56 nre vents the coin 55 from dropping on down into the box 62.

With the coin 55 in place a push to the left on the handle 43 permits the hook 59 to drop in against the coin 55, but the presence of the coin 55 prevents the hook 59 from hooking behind the abutment 60 and causes the hook 59 to slide over the abutment 60. As soon as the handle 43 has moved a short distance it carries the plate 58 aside and permits the coin 55 to drop into the box 62. By thistime, however, the dog 5l, carried by the lever 46, has engaged the notched sector 50, thus preventing return ofv the lever 43 to its initial position until said lever 43 has com* pleted the full stroke. It will be seen that at the completion of the full stroke the paw1 51 passes the opposite end of the notched sectorl 50 and reverses its position, thereby compelling a full return stroke. 51 and notched sector 50 and associated elcments constitute a full stroke device.

At an intermediate point in its travel the arm -47 of the lever 46 strikes the stud 65 on The vpawl the sector 63, and thereafter the movement of the handle 43 carries the sector 63 with it. This movement of the sector 63 is communicated in an obvious manner through lthc gears to Arotate the vertical shaft 4l, which thereby elevates the nut or carrier 38. The

'notch 71 in the dog 69, carried by the nut .of the shaft 4l an effort to remove the gromet 32 rocks the dog` 73 back through the slot 37 into the tubular standard 36.

Having pushed the lever 43 clear over to the left, the operator simply releases his hold and the two springs 48 and 64 and the weight of the carrier 38 all serve to depress the carrier 38 until the notch 7l in the dog 69 engages the groniet 32 of the topmost iemainin towel 30 on the pile 29. The overhanging lug 72 and the overhanging dog 73 prevent the carrier 38 from going any lower than this. At this point the geared sector 63 ceases its return movement and the spring 48 alone continues the return movement of the lever 46. This brings the lever handle 43 back to normal position in readiness for further use.

When the lever handle 43 was at the extreme left and the nut or carrier 38 was at its extreme height, the (gromet 32 of the towel 30 engaged by the og 69 was pushed up between the two spring-held gates 76. These gates 76 catch the gromet and hold it above them when the carrier 38 falls back. The carrier 38 can fall back at this point because the dogs 69 and 73 can rock back e withinthe tubular standard 36 through the slots 37.

After the operator has worked the lever 43, as described, he seizes the gromet 32 and the adjacent portion of the towel 30 where they stick up between the spring-held gates 76 and draws the gromet 32 forward along the rod 24, thus bringing the entire towel 30 to the front where it can be used for wiping his face and hands. lWhen he is through with the towel 3l he simply lets go of it and it drops down along the rod 34 into the soiled towel receptacle 21.

lll/*hen the supply of towels 29 is exhausted the procedure to replenish them is as follows: The screw pin 80 is given a quarter .turn so as to bring it to the position shown in Fig. 5, and then the upper end of the rod 24 is sprung up so as to disengage it from the upper end of the tubular stand ard 36. The rod 24 is then swung forward,

and the soiled towels in the lreceptacle 2l are slipped up along its length and oif. Next the cover 74 is raised andthe lever handle 43 is swung over and locked by a pin through the hole 84 and the hole in the lug 45. This raises the carriage 38 to its extreme height and both dogs 69 and 73 are pushed l back through the slots 37 inside the tubular standard 38. Then the pile of-towels are put down into the box 22 with their alining gromets on the tubular standard 36.` After this the cover 74 is replaced and the rod 24 and the tubular standard 36 recoupled at 78, 80 and the device is in readiness for further normal use.

l claim:

1. ln a device of the class described', a screw threaded shaft adapted to extend through the alining apertures in the towelsl of a pile of towels, an internally screw threaded carrier engagingisaid shaft, means on said carrier to engage one of said towels, and means to rotate the said shaft and thereby advance the carrier alongthe saine.

2. ln a device of the class described, a slotted tubular standard passing through the gromets of a pile of towels, a' screw threaded shaft within said standard, an internally screw threaded carrier within the standard engaging said shaft, means on said carrier projecting out through the slot of the standard to engage one of the said towels, and means to rotate the4 said shaft and thereby advance the carrier along the same.

3. Tn a device of the class described, a frame, a rod having both ends supported by the frame, said rod being adapted to be engaged by the gromets of a series of towels, a carrier mounted on and adapted to move along a portion of said rod, means on the carrier to engage a towel, and means to ad Vance the carrier and thereby deliver a towel along said rod.

4. Tn a device of the class'described, a box with a false bottom, a standard rising from said false bottom and adapted to engage a pile of towels, a carrier adapted to move along the standard, and mechanism beneath the false bottom adapted to move nisni connecting said lever to said carrier.

6.' ln a device of the class described, a box having a cover with an opening therethrough, a standard projecting up through said opening', a carrier on the standard adapted to engage a towel within the box and push it up through said opening, and means to actuate the said carrier.

T. ln a device of the class described, a box having a cover with an opening therethrough, a standard projecting up through carrier within said standard, two dogs car-- ried by the carrier and adapted to overhang a gromet, and means to hold said dogs out in an overhanging position 'but permit ting them to recede from that position when the carrier is at the top of the standard.

10. In a device of the class described, a screw threaded shaft adapted to extend through the gromets of a pile of towers, an internally screw threaded carrier engaging said shaft, means on said carrier to engage one of said gromets, and means to rotate said Shaft and thereby advance the carrier' along the same.

1l. In a device of the lclass described, a box having a cover with an opening therethrough," a standard projecting up through said opening, means to project a towel from said box into said opening, and pivoted members adjacent said opening adapted to engage and hold said towel when it has been projected into said opening.

12. In a device of the class described, a chamber, a rod mounted in and projecting from said chamber, a towel engaging member supported by and adapted to move along said rod to deliver a towel from said chamber, and means to actuate said towel engaging member.

123. In a. device of the class described, a chamber, a rod mounted in and projecting from said chamber, a towel engaging member adapted to move along said rod to deliver a towel from said chamber along said rod, means to act-nate said towel engaging member, and means to prevent withdra ad of .said towel from said towel engaging member until saidI member has carried a portion ot' said towel out of said chamber.

ll. In a device of the class described, a chamber, a rod mounted in and projectingl from said chamber, a towel engaging member adapted to move along said rod to deliver a towel from'said chamber, means to actuate said towel engaging member, and means to cause a reverse stroke of said towel engaging member, said towel engaging member being adapted to engage a towel in lsaid chamber upon said reverse stroke.

15. ln a device of the class described, a box adapted to contain a pile of towels, a standard adapted to extend through alining apertures in said towels, a towel engaging member mounted to move along said standard, means to advance said member along said standard, lmeans to actuate said last named means, means to produce a reverse operation of said first named means, said towel-engaging member being adapted to engage the uppermost towel of said pile upon reverse operation of said first named means, and means to permit a full reverse operation of said actuating means after said towel engaging member engages said towel.

In testimony whereof, I have subscribed lby name.

CARL E. ANDERSON.

Witnesses:

CARL A. RICHMOND, HENRY A. PARKS. 

